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With the nomination of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to head the Department of Agriculture, the cabinet of President Donald Trump will be the first in nearly 30 years to not have a single Hispanic member. – AOL.com, January 19, 2017

JPMorgan Chase is settling a federal suit accusing it of charging Hispanics and blacks who sought mortgages higher interest rates as well as fees from 2006 to at least 2009. The suit alleges that discrimination cost at least 53,000 minority borrowers tens of millions in higher interest payments and fees. “The New York bank denied wrongdoing, but says it’s agreed to settle the claims for $55 million.” – Chicago Tribune, January 18, 2017

“Women and minorities continued to make small, slow gains in their numbers at major American law firms last year, according to the National Association for Law Placement, a legal employment tracker,” the New York Times reported January 5. “The percentage of Hispanic lawyers also climbed, reaching 4.42 percent last year, up from 3.95 percent in 2015. They represent 2.31 percent of partners.”

“Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the notorious drug lord known as El Chapo who twice slipped out of high-security Mexican prisons and into criminal legend, was extradited to the United States (January 19), officials said, drawing to a close a decades-long quest to prosecute the head of one of the world’s largest narcotics organizations.” – New York Times, January 20, 2017

“The Cuban government hailed President Barack Obama’s decision ending automatic legal residency for any Cuban who touches U.S. soil, while ordinary citizens mourned the end of an easy pathway to a new life in the United States.” – Associated Press, January 13, 2017

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan visited several Central American countries last week to shore up relationships and strengthen sovereignty “amid increasing pressure from China.” – New York Times, January 14, 2017

“Four people were killed in a Manaus, Brazil, jail on January 8, the fourth in a series of bloody prison riots in northern Brazil this year that has left nearly 100 inmates dead.” – Time, January 23, 2017